The present invention relates to a flash tube with radial electrical connections and which is supplied with gas. It is more particularly used in optical pumping in lasers (particularly iodine lasers) in the visible or near ultraviolet range.
In conventional flash tubes, the electrodes are connected to metal rods serving as electrical connections. These rods are located in the axis of the discharge tube and are connected thereto by glass-metal seals. This leads on the one hand to considerable production difficulties and on the other to a significant "dead" length (i.e. a part not contributing to light emission). Moreover, as these tubes are sealed, the gaseous medium in which the discharge takes place cannot be renewed, so that its purity gradually decreases limiting the life of the tube to a few thousand flashes. In addition, the nature and pressure of the gaseous medium are definitively fixed.